- Barbara Sueko McGuire (she/her)
@barbarasueko
When I found out from my great aunt that my great grandmother had tattoos all over her hands I couldn't believe it. After some research into learning about what Hajichi is and why women got it, it felt so relevant to my life...
"I chose to get my hajichi to celebrate and stay connected to the ryukyuan culture I'm so proud to be a part of!"
Yuki (she/her)
@yukio1ogy
- Mari Megumi (they/them)
@themarimegumi
I chose this design because from what I’ve read it is a design that someone would have relatively early on on their life and their hajichi journey, and I feel that I am early in my relationship with my Uchinanchu heritage. I wanted to receive hajichi as a way to connect with my heritage, and it felt appropriate to start with this more “beginner” or “young” version. I may add to it over the years, as my ancestors may have done, as I go along my journey in life and in my exploration of my Uchinanchu heritage
"For the marubushi/aman, I kept it hollow for a few reasons...
I relate to many others of my generation in that I feel a sense of loss for the erasure of our culture, and while we are so lucky to inherit the stories and traditions of our people, they are often not the full or whole story. Although I was raised by my Uchinaanchu grandparents, I feel like I missed an opportunity to understand their experience and am left hollow, building the an outline from only what they have left behind.
It also has a “kaona,” or hidden meaning/concealed reference in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language), to muku, the new moon. This is a time when tides are low, trapping fish in tide pools and fish ponds. The hollow marubushi reminded me of muku, and how being part of the uchinanchu diaspora at times feels like being a fish in a tide pool, surviving and living separate from the ocean."
LSKI (she/her)
